20 Lounge, Beauty Bars Make Fashionable More Financially Friendly

When forced to make tough financial decisions in this tough economy, some women may be sacrificing routine beauty regimens to save money.

But staying fashionable and getting pampered doesn’t have to be something that gets cut from the budget.

Beauty bars are making it possible for women to save money and still get the beauty treatment they crave.

The concept of beauty bars is one that has recently spread from California to Arizona. Beauty bars specialize, excel, and focus on just a few services, rather than having a full spa and salon.

Valerie Griggs, CEO of 20 Lounge, went to typical corner nail salons because they were affordable. There was no upscale option for her to go to without paying a fortune.

Griggs realized that there was a huge market for high-quality, affordable nail services, and founded 20 Lounge, a stylish nail salon named for 10 toes and 10 fingers.

Griggs wanted her nail salons to be chic and hip, while providing great services at a reasonable price.

“We decided that in order to have our experience be a better experience, it had to be a lounge environment,” Griggs said. “People can get a great service at a value.”

20 Lounge focuses on giving people an unforgettable experience that can’t be found at a typical nail salon, Griggs said.

Walk through the doors of 20 Lounge, and you’re greeted by a space that is bright, sleek and trendy.

You’re either taken to the white, high-top bar to get a manicure or to a luxurious white-leather lounger for a pedicure. You’re offered a goblet of iced cucumber water, which will be champagne or wine when 20 Lounge is approved to serve alcohol.

The walls are decorated by inspirational quotes and several flat-screen televisions that play music videos that will undoubtedly get your polished fingers and toes tapping.

With creatively named manicures and pedicures such as “The Standard,” named after The Standard Hotel & Bar; “The Ritz,” named after the bar at the Ritz-Carlton; and “The Roxy,” a dry manicure named after the Whiskey a Go-Go in Hollywood, women will truly feel like they are getting celebrity treatment.

For women looking to take their daughters out for a girls’ day, the “Little Lounger” is the perfect manicure or pedicure for petite hands or toes.

20 Lounge also offers facials and waxing, and a special menu of manly choices including a Man-i-cure or Man-i-ped.

Griggs opened the first 20 Lounge in November 2009 in Scottsdale and quickly followed with two others, a second one in Scottsdale and one in San Diego, where she lives.

She plans to open four more by the end of 2011, and is in the process of raising $3 million to infuse capital into the brand so she can start the 20 Lounge franchise program.

“We want to have a 20 Lounge on every corner, like Starbucks,” Griggs said. “We’re trying to be a really great nail bar.”

20 Lounge isn’t the only beauty bar that has sprouted up in Arizona.

Drybar, located at the Scottsdale Quarter, is a beauty bar that offers blowouts instead of pedicures.

Drybar’s menu is simple, offering traditional blowouts for $35 and several upgrades including hair shots and scalp massages for small added fees.

According to Griggs, 20 Lounge and Drybar have talked about opening locations next to each other in order to provide women with the convenience to get their hair and nails done all in one day at affordable prices.

Park Avenue Blow Dry and Beauty Bar in Phoenix offers several services for $3,5 including the traditional blowout, a spray tan, makeup application or mini facial.

Each Valley beauty bar also offers special memberships where people pay a monthly membership fee and receive a set amount of services per month, along with discounts and incentives for continuing membership.

Whether you’re looking for something to do for a girls’ night out or just wanting a change from your traditional nail or hair salon, beauty bars provide an experience that will leave you feeling stylish, refreshed, and with a little more money in your purse than you’d have if you’d gone to a spa.